Thursday, 29 March 2007

The 25th March was brought to you by the letter J; that is Jeevan, Jacqui, Julia and Josh....oh and Amy who was behind the panel in the 2XX makeshift studio. It goes to show that it takes a lot to bring 2XX down. The temporary studio is kinda cosy, especially when there are two microphones and five presenters.We covered a wide range of topics in the show. First up was:Mice with super vision.Geneticists have breed mice that can see and distinguish among a broader spectrum of light waves. Normally mice and most mammals are red-green colour blind, they only have two different colour receptors in their eyes; blue and green. Humans an primates have three; blue, green and red. When the researchers added the red receptor gene to the mice, they were able to process the new sensory information straight away. Goes to show that the transition in primate evolution could have been very quick.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322160852.htm

Next up was transgenic mosquitos

Clever termitesJeevan interviewed Ra Inta from CSIRO entymology who is doing some cool things with termites. They have shown that termites can tell what sort of material their food is made of, without having to actually touch it....the key is vibrationshttp://www.csiro.au/news/ps2wf.html

Climate ChangeWe had a bit of a discussion about whether climate change is a natural or a human made phenomena.

Second Life HallucinationsEver wanted to know what a hallucination is like? Researchers from the University of California want to educate people about the crippling disorder schizophrenia where sufferers have visual and auditory hallucinations. They are often negative experiences, for example, voices urging schizophrenia sufferers to hurt themselves.

The researchers have created a virtual hospital in Second Life, the popular online virtual world. Members can walk into a hospital where they hear voices and have hallucinations such as the floor falling away leaving users to walking on stepping stones above the clouds.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6453241.stm

Future MemoriesThe lead article in New Scientist last week was "Future Memories". Researchers have found that the part of the brain that creates our day dreams of the future also 'constructs' our memories. Our memory isn't like a recording after all...www.newscientist.com

Life in the circusJacqui, Julia and Josh are all members of the Shell Questacon Science Circus, a group of young scientists that travel around Australia performing school science shows and running a science exhibition. We discussed the fun, trials and tribulations of being on the road and how to make the best slime.www.questacon.edu.au/html/sqsc.html

2XX suffered significant damage during Tuesday's storm and needs help. The music library and broadcast equipment have been badly water-damaged, as have the studios (the high water mark is a good foot and a half up the wall). Subscriptions will help, as always, but a major challenge will be rebuilding, so if you're a subscriber/volunteer please get in touch with station management (they've temporarily set up on the first floor of the Griffin Centre) and find out how you can help; from what I saw today they're really going to need people with building & technical skills to rebuild the office, reception & studios.

1675 - John Flamsteed appointed first Astronomer Royal of England.1774 - First sighting of Orion Nebula by William Herschel.1877 - Emile Berliner invents the microphone.1954 - Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.1955 - First radio facsimile transmission is sent across the continent of America.1977 - The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.1979 - U.S. Voyager I photo reveals Jupiter's rings.